MONTREAL - CF Montreal will head into the international break with three crucial points after a 3-1 win over rivals Toronto FC on Friday.

Samuel Piette, Joaquin Torres and Romell Quioto scored for Montreal (7-7-7), while Ifunanyachi Achara replied for Toronto (3-12-6).

Montreal opened the game at a breakneck pace and found its first chance just after the first minute, when Torres' shot grazed the top of the bar.

After five minutes, Toronto midfielder Noble Okello was booked after a high challenge caught Victor Wanyama in the thigh.

Following video review, the yellow card was changed to a straight red and TFC found themselves down a man with 85 minutes to play.

The rest of the half was largely one-way traffic as CF Montreal sent wave after wave of attack, racking up 60 per cent possession in the half.

At the 22-minute mark, Piette found himself at point-blank range but couldn't convert after his shot was blocked.

The midfielder made up for it less than a minute later when a free kick at the edge of the box from Djordje Mihailovic was stopped and the rebound bounced right to Piette.

With a 1-0 lead, Montreal did not let up and spend the rest of the half in Toronto's end.

Toronto came out with more fight in the second half, creating chances and pushing forward.

At the 58-mnute mark, Yeferson Soteldo was played in behind and squared the ball for Achara, who made no mistake and equalized.

With half an hour left, Bjorn Johnsen made way for Quioto, who hasn't seen action since his injury in July.

In the 68th minute, Zachary Brault-Guillard played an inch-perfect cross right to the waiting foot of Torres, who launched the ball into the top-left corner.

Less than 15 minutes after his entrance, Quioto was played in by Mihailovic and calmly placed the ball into the bottom right corner, doubling Montreal's lead.

Toronto's next opponent will be the FC Cincinnati on Sept. 11 after the international break while CF Montreal faces Nashville SC that same day.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 27, 2021.